Taming the Wild
by tsusami
Summary: Three times the shadow king had to suppress Mori's wild side. Anime-verse.


A/N: This was written for my "five times" challenge issued by PeroxidePest17. I have to say it was a failure... I only wrote 4 times...

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**Taming the Wild **

Kyouya leaned against the cool glass and quietly surveyed the music room. He made small notes and marks next to the listed tables, his daily inventory well underway.

Table one, Honey-sempai. Consumed: two strawberry shortcakes, one chocolate chip cookie, one chocolate cake with ganache, three cups of tea. (Note: check pantry to count final shortcakes remaining) Guests: finger sandwiches, strawberry shortcake & 1cup/person. Mori: one cup of tea. Kyouya looked a little closer, narrowed his eyes and scratched off that last note. He frowned when the ink bled a little, and decided he would revert back to his old pen. He glanced at the instrument in his hand and realized he was still using the cheap replacement Haruhi had lent him.

He looked up when he felt the invisible presence of a pair of eyes watching him.

"May I help you?" he pushed his glasses with his forefinger up the bridge of his nose. A pair of girls, arm in arm, looked up at him. Their brown eyes met, stifling a few giggles before nodding at him.

"Um, we have a question," the paler of the two spoke up. Kyouya combed through his memories, smiling when he remembered her father was the owner of a luxury hotel chain dotting major cities internationally.

"Yes, Ms. Hirano?"

She lowered her eyes, polished shoe scuffing along the wooden floor. "We were wondering," she smiled, lifting one shoulder in a half shrug. "That is, we were noticing that everyone in the host club has a different personality."

"We hosts try to offer our guests the best variety. Have you not found someone to your liking?"

"Oh no!" the other girl spoke up, eyes protesting the very idea. Kyouya narrowed his eyes slightly, trying to remember what business background she came from. "We're delighted with everyone in the club, but you see, we were wondering about Mori-sempai."

The corner of his mouth tugged up in the briefest of smiles.

"Ah yes, Mori-sempai is the wild type," Kyouya said, making a few notes on his legal pad.

"But he's so calm, and quiet! He's more like a gentle giant" Hirano commented, a light flush dusting her cheeks. She glanced toward Honey's table, where Mori was presently wiping away a tuft of cream attached to Honey's cheek. Mori's large hands moved with a gentle grace that was often more a credit to him than a problem. "What is it that makes Mori-sempai wild?"

Kyouya's lips turned up in a smile.

"Then you ladies haven't heard the stories," he said, clutching his clipboard to his chest. "Have you never wondered why Mori-sempai is seldom seen without Honey-sempai at his side?" The girls glanced over at the table. Mori watched as Honey demolished a slice of cheesecake all on his own. "Mori is the Kendo National Champion. It is common knowledge that Honey-sempai isn't allowed to watch his matches. Without Honey to keep him in check, Mori's wild side takes over." A twin pair of eyes widened, their hands clutching one another's yellow sleeves a little tighter. "Of course, there _have_ been a few... exceptions," Kyouya said, turning to face the table where the two seniors sat.

He paused for dramatic effect, smiling when the girls broke the mounting silence.

"Exceptions?"

"Oh yes," Kyouya had no trouble schooling his face in mock concern. "The first time was early in the club's history when the twins were not yet well acquainted with our seniors. I'm afraid the club was quite demolished when the foolish twins made Honey-sempai the center of one of their pranks. Had I not called in the kendo team to calm their leader, I fear it would have turned into quite a spectacle." Kyouya spared a glance for the two girls, catching the reevaluating look in their eyes. Their cheeks were suffused with a glow beneath the bright look in their eyes. "And once when Honey-sempai came down with a cold, he had to stay home for three days. It wasn't so terrible at first, but by the middle of the second day, Mori-sempai was on such edge worrying about the other boy that he nearly attacked a classmate for asking to borrow an eraser. The mood was quite grim in the club those days and finally I was forced to ask, on Tamaki's behalf, for Mori-sempai to absent himself from the club until Honey-sempai's return."

Kyouya paused, smiled a little to himself and began to write down his little anecdote less he forget it.

"That's not so bad is it? At least no one was hurt," Hirano said, clasping her hands together against her chest. "At least it doesn't happen often."

"Oh, there is more," Kyouya continued, eyes scanning the room for ideas. "At some point in the year, we had a particular customer that developed a rather strong attachment to our sempai. I'm afraid when she contrived to separate Honey-sempai to be alone for however brief a period of time... well, shall it suffice to say that Mori-sempai has a rather well concealed jealous nature?"

The girls mouths opened and a low squeal slowly rose. "Im afraid it was the first time I had to scold my sempai and remind him of his duty as a host."

Kyouya quickly wrote down this story as well. If he could get them to Renga in time he was sure she could spin them into her next fancomic before it was sent to the printers at the end of the month. "But I fear I've said too much and it is my sincerest hope that you will not spread these tales to other customers. I have no desire to cause alarm or give reason for anyone to believe they are in danger before Mori-sempai's presence."

The girls were shaking their hands, assuring them they would be most discreet with this knowledge, they wouldn't tell a soul, they smiled, backing away until they reached their table and erupted into wild giggles. Kyouya looked at his clipboard. He glanced across the room at what would certainly be the next month's most popular pairing, twiddling his pen while he thought of what merchandise would best accomodate the new demand.

Kyouya would fill in Mori-sempai of these tales later, and the usually taciturn young man would nod or blink or grunt his acknowledgement of the new lore surrounding him. And the customers would be happy, content in their illusion of two young men who shared a deep bond--a picture of wholesome, innocent, not yet consummated love. Kyouya pushed up his slipping glasses, remembering the first time he stumbled across Mori and Honey when the rest of the members were supposedly away. He had averted his face then for their sake, pushed up his glasses much like he did now and though his first reaction may have been embarassment it was in fact the very situation that made his two sempai the most complicit of the host club team. For the key to controlling Mori's wild side was indeed Honey, or rather the key to controlling the unexpectedly wild baby-faced senior was Mori himself. He learned how quickly the senior could be roused to anger when it came to defending Honey's honor and thus Kyouya learned early on, that to keep Honey happy was to control them both.

Kyouya looked down at his list and noted the additional scones and cream demolished by Honey in the short amount of time he spent talking. He tapped his pen against his earlier note and decided it was best to check the status of the pantry sooner, rather than later.


End file.
